The paper is devoted to the historiography of the history of Australia and Oceania. The author focuses on the works of Soviet and Russian researchers on this topic. Key scientific works are described that analyze various aspects of political, economic, ethnic and cultural processes in Australia, New Zealand and the small island states of Oceania. The significant contribution made to the development of this topic by the staff of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) has been proven.